3 apr 2024 om 14:10 Update: 8 min. geleden
Energy supplier HEM must pay a fine of 1.1 million euros for deception. According to regulator ACM, salespeople who called on behalf of the company to recruit customers were unclear about the conditions and rates of the contracts.
The energy supplier has been warned several times by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). The prices for permanent contracts at HEM were far above the price ceiling. These expensive permanent contracts were offered in a misleading and often aggressive manner. Many of the new customers lost a cheaper contract as a result.
The salespeople usually did not say that they were calling on HIM’s behalf. For example, the employees claimed that they were calling about an existing contract. As a result, customers often only realized later that they had switched to a more expensive contract under false pretenses.
In addition, sellers continued to insist when consumers had already said several times that they were not interested. HEM customers who want to leave must pay high cancellation fees.
The regulator has received many complaints about the energy supplier. “The ACM considers the violations very serious and therefore imposes a fine of 1.1 million euros on the company,” says ACM board member Manon Leijten. Some customers still pay hundreds of euros more every month for gas and electricity.
Tags: Energy company HEM receives fine million misleading consumers Economy
